Pucker Up and Bark Like a Dog: aka “Tips” (1990)

A shy artist and an aspiring actress find love together, but a series of misunderstandings and insecurities seems destined to keep them apart until they look inside themselves and realize what they truly want.

Genre – Comedy

Producer – Walter Josten

Director(s) – Paul S. Parco

Writer(s) – Walter Josten, Patricia Bando Josten, Gary Larimore and Mel Green

Cast – John Gries, Lisa Zane, Phillis Diller, Isabel Sanford, Wendy O. Williams and Robert Culp

Blue Rider’s Role – Producers, and Walter Josten co-wrote the script

Distributor(s) – MGM, Fries Entertainment

Release Date – 1990

Synopsis – A struggling artist who is waiting tables for a living falls for the boss’s daughter and finds the inspiration he has been lacking. She is an aspiring actress. Bad breaks and rotten deals send them on a wild chase for luck and love.

Critic’s Kudos:
Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide: “A socially isolated and extremely shy Los Angeles painter discovers his dream girl in the form of a struggling actress and finds himself at last, developing the confidence to exhibit his work, in this off-beat romantic comedy.”

Major Cast and Crew Credits and Awards:
Directed by Paul S. Parco (Killer Sex, Stolen Kisses, A Passion, Deadly Alliance).

Written by Walter Josten (Night Angel), Patricia Josten (debut), Gary Larimore (debut) and Mel Green (debut).

Stars John Gries (Men in Black, Get Shorty, Real Genius, The Grifters, Twin Falls Idaho, Helter Skelter, Will Penney; four award nominations for Napoleon Dynamite; 33 other films and TV projects); Lisa Zane (Freddy’s Dead: The Final Nightmare, Monkeybone, Bad Influence, Gross Anatomy, Baby Face Nelson); Phillis Diller (The Aristocrats, Kiss My Act, The Gong Show, Splendor in the Grass, The Private Navy of Sgt. O’Farrell, The Fat Spy; five awards and two other nominations for works including The Pruitts of Southhampton); Isabel Sanford (Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner, Jane Austen’s Mafia, Love at First Bite, Lady Sings the Blues, All in the Family; an Emmy, six Emmy noms and five Golden Globe noms for The Jeffersons); Wendy O. Williams (Reform School Girls, 800 Fantasy Lane, Candy Goes to Hollywood) and Robert Culp (The Pelican Brief, Spy Hard, Sunday in New York, Bob & Carol & Ted & Alice; five nominations for I Spy).

Cast includes Christopher Maher (Enough, Mannequin, Best Defense, Homeland Security); Sal Lopez (Full Metal Jacket, Paparazzi, The Banger Sister, Selena, American Me, Luminarias; nominated for And the Earth Did Not Swallow Him; 36 other films and TV projects); Bradford Bancroft (Universal Soldier, Bachelor Party, Patty Hearst, China Beach); Paul Bartel (The Usual Suspects, Escape From New York, Caddyshack 2, Gremlins 2: The New Batch, European Vacation, Frankenweenie and 61 other films and TV projects); Barney Martin (The Producers, Hero, Arthur); Twink Caplan (Clueless, Look Who’s Talking, Night Angel, The Hand Job); Alexander Folk (Dreamgirls, Lost Highway, City of Angels, Showgirls, Christmas Vacation); Larry “Flash” Jenkins (Ferris Bueller’s Day Off, Fletch, Body Double, The Presidio); Nicholas Worth (Darkman, Barb Wire, The Naked Gun: From the Files of Police Squad, No Way Out, Coma, High School High; won a 1980 Spanish Best Actor Award for Don’t Answer the Phone); Tedra Gabriel (Night Angel); Clark Jarrett (Night of the Demons, Hot Moves, Bobby Jones: Stroke of Genius; won 12 awards for The Return of Paul Jarrett); Patricia Bando Josten (Night Angel) and Elias Zarou (X-Men, Who is Cletis Tout, Police Academy 3: Back in Training, The Jesse Ventura Story).

Executive Producer Walter Josten (Wake of Death, O Jerusalem, Back in the Day, Bar Starz; Emmy for The Incredible Mrs. Ritchie; 28 other films and TV projects).

Producer: Jeff Geoffray (Around the World in 80 Days, Shergar, Silver Wolf, Behind the Red Door and 23 other films).

Original Music by Don Preston (Blood Diner, Android, Emmanuelle: First Contact).

Cinematography by David Lewis (UHF, Night of the Demons, Leprechaun 3, Chairman of the Board, Children of the Corn V).

Film Editing by Leslie Rosenthal (Chopping Mall, Barbarian Queen, The Return of Swamp Thing).

Production Design by Ivo Cristante (Tremors, Threesome, Child’s Play 2, Amazon Women on the Moon, Private School, Pumpkinhead II: Blood Wings).

Art Direction by Ken Aichele (Night of the Demons, Night Angel, Leprechaun 3, Witchboard 2: The Devil’s Doorway).

Links:
Internet Movie Database entry for Pucker Up and Bark Like a Dog